Conclusion: People who dislike the Diary, devotion of the Divine Mercy, and St. Faustina do so not because it actually contains error, but because either 1) it's the “trad” thing to do, or 2) they don't like Bl. John Paul II, and if he liked her, it must be because she and her writings are heretical. Guilt by association. It's just as dishonest for a non-traditional Catholic to say that all who prefer the Tridentine Mass are schismatics based on their experience with Sedevacantists.

It absolutely contains error, as has been shown, and the 1959 Holy Office put the diary on the Index of Forbidden Books. The later CDF who "approved" it is the same one who rehabilitated Rosinimi.

May 1979 Print


Dubious Devotions


by Reverend Mr Douglas Laudenschlager

THE DEVIL, as we know, works night and day to turn men away from God, and certainly has no scruples about the means which he employs to this end. The weaker and more ignorant he perverts by idolatry and heresy and foul sins of impurity and intemperance. But he knows that he cannot often conquer more upright Christian souls with such vile temptations. To ensnare them, he must transform himself into an "angel of light," as St. Paul warns us (2 Cor. 11:14)” that is, he must conceal his revolting features under a more appealing exterior. He must tempt those who would less readily succuмb to flagrant vice into devious snares which have all the appearances of something noble and good. As long as he succeeds in turning souls away from God, the method matters little to him.

This explains why the devil seeks to insinuate himself even into the sacred realm of the devotion and worship which we render to Almighty God. If he can pervert our spiritual life, he knows that he can lessen our love for God, and perhaps ultimately lead us into doctrinal error, for an intimate bond links our faith and our prayer. Among the means which he has employed in the past and continues to employ, frequently with the connivance of well-meaning but misguided persons, we discover: spurious apparitions, revelations, and messages; works of art contrary to sacred artistic tradition; and bizarre and reprehensible prayers and devotions.

But the Church, like her divine Founder, knows the devil and his wiles; and the Church, like Our Lord Himself, has done everything possible to warn the faithful away from his snare. The Code of Canon Law contains permanent legislation governing the publication of "messages," prayers, and works of art, by which the devil so easily seduces the gullible. Furthermore, particular decrees of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office have frequently alerted the faithful to particular things of this sort endangering their faith and devotion and deserving of condemnation. Since, however, the conciliar Church seems to have abandoned these solicitous efforts, the following summary of canonical legislation in these matters, illustrated by examples, may be of profit to many.



Apparitions & Devotions

General principles and legislation ”The devil has a special predilection for false "apparitions" and "revelations," for by them he occasionally succeeds in undermining the faith of immense crowds, leading them into disobedience to the Church's hierarchy, or even into schism, and distracting them from their duties of state. Archbishop Lefebvre has publicly denounced the widespread tendency of credulous Catholics of our day to run after this sort of phenomena of such doubtful supernatural origin. He has eloquently described this deviation, which draws down the ridicule of unbelievers upon the Church, as "traditionalist pentecostalism," for by it traditional Catholics, like their pentecostalist counterparts, push aside the visible Church which Our Blessed Lord instituted for the salvation of all, push aside the Mass and Sacraments which are the principal means of grace, push aside the genuine Christian life of daily duty and self-denial, only to run to the side of "visionaries" to "ooh" and "aah" along with them in a state of collective emotional excitement at supposedly divine colors and lights and voices.

Examples-On Dec. 21, 1915 the Holy Office, while permitting prayer to "Our Lady of La Salette," forbad any and all public discussion, especially in print, of the text and interpretation of the so-called "Secret of La Salette," under penalty of suspension a divinis for priests and privation of the Sacraments for the faithful. Five years later, it published a decree (May 12, 1920) refusing approbation to the revelations of Loublonde, France (to Claire Ferehaud) and after several French publications had distorted the sense of the first decree, issued a second one (June 1920) confirming the first and giving an official French translation of it. The apparitions of "Our Lady" at Ezquioga were condemned as "completely lacking any supernatural character" on June 18, 1934, along with several books on the subject published in violation of Canon 1399. On May 11, 1960, the Holy Office enjoined the Archbishop of Avignon and the Bishops of Rodez and Montpellier to take public action against a certain Miss Jacqueline Bouche, who claimed a "supernatural mission," and to punish her followers.

Padre Pio di Pietralcina  On May 31, 1923, the Holy Office declared that its inquiry had not led to conclusive proof in favor of the supernatural origin of certain phenomena regarding Padre Pio. A second decree, after further study, confirmed the first on July 24, 1924, and commanded the faithful to abstain completely from relations with Padre Pio by visit or letter. On May 22, 1931, a third decree confirmed all of the above, and condemned a book on the priest in question published without the necessary approbation. Finally, exasperated by the disobedience of so many, the Holy Office condemned a list of eight more books on Padre Pio on July 30, 1952. On August 6, L'Osservatore Romano explained that the lack of ecclesiastical approval of the books in question had principally motivated the decree of July, but added that "Padre Pio di Pietralcina himself has said more than once that people are writing and affirming things, even miraculous things, about him, which do not correspond to the truth". And the article concludes: "This decree should recall everyone to a greater reserve and prudence in such delicate matters."

Such measures, of course, must not be interpreted as if they were directed "against" Padre Pio, a devout friar whose ministry as a confessor and director of souls bore great fruit. Pope Pius XII later removed them. Instead, they prove the extreme prudence of the Holy Office, and the distress with which this Sacred Congregation, like Padre Pio himself, viewed the inordinate curiosity and impatient disobedience of too many of the faithful in his regard.

On other occasions, too, the raucous enthusiasm of a small number has delayed the Church's official recognition of certain genuine apparitions, due to the impossibility of a calm and objective inquiry such as Church law demands. All of these facts recall us once again "to a greater reserve and prudence in such delicate matters."



Religious Art

General principles and legislation On April 8, 1952, Pope Pius XII summarized in a brief but eloquent allocution the great services which sacred art has rendered to the faith of the Christian people. Masterpieces such as the stained glass windows of Chartres and mosaics of Rome have justly received the title of "the Bible of the people," for they translate into a simple and universal language the truths of the faith, and sometimes in a more impressive fashion than the most fervent sermons, the Pope explained. But if religious art can help, it can also harm the faith and piety of Catholics. Therefore, Canon 1385, 1, 3° requires previous ecclesiastical approbation for the printing of holy pictures by any process, with accompanying prayers or without; furthermore, Canon 1399, 12° prohibits any and all printed religious pictures "alien to the spirit and the decrees of the Church." Tradition is the best guide in this matter. The legislation of Trent, of Urban VIII, and of Benedict XIV already contained the following, and many other details on forbidden pictures.

Examples: One may not represent the Holy Trinity in the bosom of Mary, nor as a three-headed man; nor the Holy Ghost in human form, either with or without the other two Divine Persons. Nor may one represent a Divine Person, Our Lady, or the saints in the habit of a particular religious order; nor by any other representation favor one order over another. Only canonized Saints may be depicted with a halo. On April 8,1916, the Holy Office also condemned pictures of Our Lady wearing priestly vestments.

Further prescriptions of the Code of Canon Law restrict public veneration to the images of the Saints and Blessed only (C.1277); and order Bishops to forbid anything unusual in this domain, especially in churches (C.1279).



Prayers & Devotions

General principles and legislation Because of the important role of personal prayer in the supernatural life of the faithful, and of the danger of superstitious practices and even doctrinal error from the use of unacceptable devotions, the Church also regulates this matter very carefully. Thus Canon 1385, 1, 2° demands previous ecclesiastical approbation for books or any other publications containing prayers and devotions. Moreover, Canon 1399, 5° strictly forbids the printing, reading, possession, sale, translation, or distribution of any publications dealing with new devotions, even under the pretext that they are only for private use. Commentators of the Code explain that the Church normally accepts new modes of devotion to Saints and to mysteries which have always been honored. In this way, she has not hindered the introduction of the Scapular of the Passion, or the practice of the perpetual Rosary, which are new forms of traditional devotions, But the Church does habitually reject prayers and devotions which have new and unprecedented objects, such as the parts of Our Lord's body, as the examples below will illustrate.

Examples : The Church forbids among other things, new and unusual titles to be attributed to Our Lord and the Saints. The Holy Office has explicitly forbidden: the title of "friend of the Sacred Heart" given to St. Joseph; of "Our Lady of the Sacred Heart," implying a superiority of Mary over her divine Son; and the title of "Penitent Heart of Jesus" and "Penitent Jesus," since Our Lord had no need to do penance. The Church also reproves a special and direct devotion rendered to "parts" of Our Messed Lord, and has explicitly condemned devotion to: the Holy Face; the shoulder wound of Our Lord (by decrees of 1678 and 1879—the Church has never recognized St. Bernard as the author of this peculiar devotion); His divine hands (Feb. 6, 1896); His soul (1901 and 1906); and His "Holy Head" (June 18, 1938).

Among other things, the Holy Office has also: refused a feast in honor of the "Precious Blood of Mary"; condemned the practice "of 44 Masses," with the false promises attached, begun in a Polish monastery (March 17,1934); forbidden the publication of the promises allegedly attached to the "Fifteen Prayers of Saint Bridget," sometimes printed with titles like "The Secret of Happiness" or "Magnificent Promises," because of the extremely doubtful supernatural origin of these promises (Jan. 28, 1954); commanded the suppression of the devotion "to the Divine Mercy" as propagated after the visions of Sister Faustina Kowalska, who died in 1938 near Cracow (March 6, 1959); and condemned a prayer "for the reign of Jesus and Mary over all creatures," which suggests the subtle error that they do not already possess such a reign.

On May 26, 1937, by express command of Pope Pius XI, the Holy Office issued a stem general decree against the multiplication and propagation "of new forms of devotion of this sort, sometimes ridiculous, and almost always vain imitations or deformations of other forms of devotion legitimately established." The docuмent points out the bad impression made upon non-Catholics but such things and severely admonishes the Bishops to exercise a strict vigilance in this matter, as demanded by Canon Law.



Indulgences

General principles and legislation -- The spread of devotions accompanied by incredible non-existent indulgences has also done much at certain periods to draw down upon the Church the scorn of unbelievers, Canon 1388, §1 requires previous ecclesiastical approbation for any books, booklets, pamphlets, cards, etc. mentioning the concession of indulgences. Furthermore, Canon 1399, 11° strictly forbids the printing, reading, possession, sale, translation, or distribution of all such materials, if the indulgences in question are apocryphal (that is, never really granted by any Pope) or have been proscribed or revoked by the Holy See.

Examples : To the eternal shame of those who have invented such ludicrous things, here are just a few examples from a series of apocryphal indulgences condemned by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences on May 26, 1898:

1) for a prayer composed of the words of Mary as she received the body of her Son, the deliverance of fifteen souls from Purgatory.

2) for the recitation of a certain prayer after the Elevation of the Host, an indulgence of 5676 years in honor of the number of Our Lord's wounds;

3) for three Our Father's and three Hail Mary's in honor of the three ribs that pierced Our Lord's side as He climbed Mount Calvary . . . an indulgence of one hundred thousand years!

One can easily understand why the bull "Officiorum" of Pope Leo XIII, from which the code condenses the Canons on this subject, contains the further prescription that false indulgences of this sort already spread about "must be withdrawn from the hands of the faithful."

Another important decree of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences (Aug 10, 1899) lists ten rules for discerning true from false indulgences. Here are a few excerpts: those indulgences are authentic which are contained in Hie latest edition of the "Raccolta" (Rule 1); those attached to publications or pictures printed without the necessary approval are to be considered inauthentic (4); all those of more than 100 years are revoked (5); those are false or suspect which grant plenary indulgences for short prayers (6); come from doubtful "revelations" (7), or promise the liberation of souls from Purgatory (8).

Finally, the faithful should note that any change or interpolation made in the prayers to be recited causes the attached indulgences to cease (Canon 934, 2). Therefore, those, for example, who add lists of invocations between the decades of the Rosary, lose all the precious indulgences normally accompanying this great prayer.

In this domain as in so many others, Holy Mother Church has amply demonstrated her solicitude for the eternal salvation of her children, warning them away from dangerous paths and patiently but sternly calling back the erring. If only all would listen to her voice, and remain faithful to sound traditions and traditional legislation in these delicate matters, how many deceptively appealing snares of the devil would be recognized for what they are and carefully avoided! Let us remember that Almighty God will judge us one day on our devotion, not on our devotions, and certainly none the more leniently if we have capriciously endangered our faith and our love of God, in disobedience to His Church, by a blameworthy enthusiasm for doubtful "apparitions" and rejected "devotions." Let us charitably remind our fellow Catholics of their duties in this regard as sons of the Church. And let us all strive by God's grace to become examples of genuine Christian devotion, faithful to the Mass and Confession and Communion, to our daily Rosary and prayers and our dairy duties, giving proof of our ardent supernatural love of God and of our neighbor.

.

I read this thread and there are a lot of great posts here, which
I appreciate.  Through it all, there are two points I did not see
mentioned, which might be of use to those looking for 'answers'.


1..   The aspect of 'presumption' refers to presumption of God's
mercy.  In the extreme case, the sin of presumption can be a
mortal sin.  It is due to the vice of pride that anyone would
presume that their sins are forgiven, and that they don't need
to confess them in the sacrament of Penance.  This is one of
the many problems with Protestantism.  So, I thought it would
be good to see those things all in one place instead of scattered
around dozens of pages.  Curiously, this is closely related to the
second item, below, inasmuch as it is another way for getting
around our need to do penance.  There is absolutely nothing in
the Divine Mercy 'devotion' that teaches penance or our need to
do penance, or to submit ourselves to the sacrament of Penance.
While asking God's mercy is a traditional practice, and is part of
the Roman Rite and the Eastern rites as well, that is PETITION
and SUPPLICATION, whereas the Divine Mercy 'devotion' relies
on a kind of confidence that this mercy is ours because we claim
it.  And presumption is a most dangerous vice.


2..   About 20 years ago, I knew a woman who was very fond of
this Divine Mercy devotion as well as Medjugorje.  But she did
not care much for the Message of Fatima, and turned up her
nose at any mention of the Third Secret, the Fatima prayers
(the Fatima Decade Prayer is one she would not add when she
prayed the Rosary with a group), or Sister Lucia of Fatima.  I
asked her about this and asked what was so attractive to her
about the Divine Mercy chaplet and such, and she told me that
the reason was that Sister Faustina was good looking.  That was
basically her whole foundation:  the appearance of the 'seer'.
She said she didn't like Fatima because Sister Lucy was ugly.
End of story.  And this experience taught me something about
the SUPERFICIALIY of people, who could pass judgment on a
whole topic or on a movement or on a devotion, based on the
physical appearance of the person with whom the devotion is
associated.  After all, when we pray the Fatima prayers, we do
not think about the faces of the shepherd children, really.  I
mean, they might come to mind in passing, but that is not the
focus of the devotion.  We think about the image of Our Lady
of Fatima, and of the message she came to tell us, mostly the
importance of PENANCE, and the danger of us falling into hell.

As far as I know, the Sunday after Easter is Low Sunday.  

Toward the end of my NO days it seemed the NO Church treated this Sunday as being more important than Easter.  This was the height of their liturgical year.  Mercy, mercy, mercy.  What's a "Justice"?  

Kind of like condemning abortion because of the dignity of the human to the exclusion of its being gravely offensive to God.  

If your gonna bust out the beads, pray the Rosary.  

Amen?

Sorry to bump an old Thread, but this needs to be discussed in light of recent events. Yes, Sede Catholic and others are absolutely correct that Divine Mercy already had many approvals and Imprimaturs long before even the 60s, e.g. well into the late 30s, the 40s and the 50s. It had already inspired millions of the Catholic Faithful in Poland, as well as elsewhere, like in the United States of America.

See Wiki for more details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faustina_Kowalska
Spread of the devotion[edit]

Before her death Faustina predicted that "there will be a war, a terrible, terrible war" and asked the nuns to pray for Poland. In 1939, a year after Faustina's death when Archbishop Jałbrzykowski noticed that her predictions about the war had taken place, he allowed public access to the Divine Mercy image which resulted in large crowds that led to the spread of the Divine Mercy devotion.^[34] The Divine Mercy devotion became a source of strength and inspiration for many people in Poland. By 1941 the devotion had reached the United States and millions of copies of Divine Mercy prayer cards were printed and distributed worldwide.^[33]

In 1942 Jałbrzykowski was arrested by the nαzιs, and Father Sopoćko and other professors went into hiding near Vilnius for about two years. During that period Sopoćko used his time to prepare for establishment of a new religious congregation based on the Divine Mercy messages reported by Faustina. After the war, Sopoćko wrote the constitution for the congregation and helped the formation of what is now the Congregation of the Sisters of the Divine Mercy.^[35] By 1951, 13 years after Faustina's death, there were 150 Divine Mercy centers in Poland.^[34][36]
On 24 June 1956, Pope Pius XII blessed an Image of the Divine Mercy in Rome, the only one blessed by a Pope before the Second Vatican Council.^[37] In 1955, under Pope Pius XII, the Bishop of Gorzów founded a religious order called the Congregation of the Most Holy Lord Jesus Christ, Merciful Redeemer, to spread devotion to the Divine Mercy.^[38][39]Under both Pope Pius XI and Pope Pius XII, writings on devotion to the Divine Mercy were given imprimaturs by many bishops, making it an approved devotion.^{[40][41][42][43]}Cardinals Adam Stefan Sapieha and August Hlond were among those who gave their approval.^[44][45] During the papacy of Pope Pius XII, Vatican Radio broadcast several times about the Divine Mercy.^[46] 

So, what happened, why the confusion? Shouldn't everyone have continued practicing it well into the 60s? No, the Communists absolutely hated and loathed the devotion to the Merciful Jesus, as it was called (and more recently, a new miracle has been discovered that the Divine Mercy Image of the Holy Face on the original Icon is exactly the same as the Image of the Holy Face on the Shroud of Turin! Another miraculous proof of the authenticity of this very traditional devotion) and after many failed and repeated attempts, based on misinformation, false translations, and other prejudices, to get Pope Pius XII to condemn the devotion - which the Holy Father absolutely refused to do - finally, under Pope John XXIII in 1959, a temporary proscription was issued in 1959 by the Holy Office. Some 20 years later, this temporary non-infallible decision was overturned.

Wiki: "After a failed attempt to persuade Pope Pius XII to sign a condemnation, Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani [some say it was not Ottaviani, but others - Xavier] at the Holy Office included her works on a list he submitted to the newly elected Pope John XXIII in 1959.^{[47][48][49][50]"}

In conclusion, The Divine Mercy devotion is an extremely powerful God-inspired devotion to make reparation, for our sins and those of the world, through the Passion of Christ, and His holy Body and Precious Blood. Some traditionalists oppose it, believing it (1) promises mercy without asking reparation and/or (2) does not require pagans and heretics to convert, beside other doubts and objections. I don't intend to answer every possible doubt, especially because that's been done by others, but a brief study will show these objections are mistaken. For e.g. on Day 8, Our Lord Jesus says, "Today bring to Me the Souls who are in the prison of Purgatory, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice."  showing He is asking precisely for reparation, and the offering of prayers, sacrifices and indulgences. 

As to the second objection, Our Lord's original words for Day 5 were "Today bring to Me the Souls of heretics and schismatics and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church My wounds heal and in this way they alleviate My Passion."  Ewtn says this was changed for ecuмenical reasons, because it didn't sound nice to modern ears. Here, we see, in its original form, its a very traditional devotion. [See the excuse of EWTN, "Our Lord's original words here were "heretics and schismatics," since He spoke to Saint Faustina within the context of her times. " https://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm ]

Finally, St. Maria Faustina was a victim soul, who died at age 33, like Our Lord and many traditional Saints; the devotion was extremely popular in Catholic Poland even in the 40s and 50s, when it received many imprimaturs. The devotion has been helpful for Catholic Poland to this day. 

Divine mercy of the NO has always bothered me.
After i read this  i knew why:
https://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/f072_DivMercy.htm

Powerful in (1) making reparation for our sins and those of the world (The Body and Blood of Jesus are among the most powerful means to make reparation), we are encouraged to offer them to the Father in many chaplets, in (2) obtaining release for the souls in Purgatory etc. I will remind people that the Angel of Fatima itself taught the children a prayer very similar to a major Divine Mercy prayer, "MOST Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which He is offended"

See for source: http://www.catholictradition.org/Children/fatima-prayers.htm This was taught in Fatima, and is similar to Divine Mercy.

The Divine Mercy prayer is "Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and for those of the whole world" which can be said many times. St. Faustina saw calamities averted as she repeated it throughout the day. It can be said before Holy Mass for example, along with mediation on the Passion of Jesus.

The prayer of St. Gertrude, modified by the Church: "Eternal Father, I offer You the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Holy Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, sinners in the universal Church, those within my own home and within my family" are another example of this form of prayer which is very powerful.

Let me give you an example of another entirely non-controversial similar devotion called the Chaplet of Mercy, from Catholic Tradition.

Here the principal prayer in the Chaplet is, "Eternal Father, we offer You the Holy Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ to heal the Wounds of our souls." http://www.catholictradition.org/Christ/holy-wounds.htm See the promises, all Church approved http://www.catholictradition.org/Children/number.htm#17 So this similar devotion allows us to understand why this form of prayer is also very pleasing to God, useful for ourselves and wins victories for the Church. Jesus promised, among other things, "At each word that you pronounce of the Chaplet of the Holy Wounds, I allow a drop of My Blood to fall upon the soul of a sinner.","Each time that you offer to My Father the merits of My Divine Wounds, you win an immense fortune.", "I will grant all that is asked of Me through the invocation of My Holy Wounds. You will obtain everything, because it is through the merit of My Blood, which is of infinite price. With My Wounds and My Divine Heart, everything can be obtained. "Those who honor them will have a true knowledge of Jesus Christ. In meditation on them, you will always find a new love.", "All your actions, even the least, soaked in My Blood, will acquire by this alone an infinite merit and will please My Heart" and "The invocations of the Holy Wounds will obtain an incessant victory for the Church".

This is what Jesus asked on Day 8 in the Divine Mercy: Read the original words and you will see it is a very solid traditional devotion.

https://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm

Eighth Day
"Today bring to Me the Souls who are in the prison of Purgatory,
and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice."  

Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded: Manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen."